Exclusive: Rubio says US-Israel alliance remains firm as he heads to Qatar amid backlash over Doha strikes
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The “Coalition of the Willing,” a triumvirate of European nations looking to support Ukraine in continued discussions with the U.S. and Russia, is holding a virtual meeting this Sunday. (https://static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/08/trump-putin-trilateral-summit-coalition.jpg)

Rubio dismissed the notion that Russian President Vladimir Putin was “emboldened” by his recent summit with President Trump, despite the latest Russian drone incidents in Poland and Romania.

“This scenario illustrates why the President believes this war needs to come to an end. Conflicts generally escalate rather than subside,” Rubio explained to Fox News. “These drone activities occur far from the main battlegrounds and don’t impact the front lines. They primarily aim to undermine each side, and Ukraine is also conducting strikes within Russia, which is among the reasons the President desires the war’s conclusion.”

Rubio also disputed assertions that the United States “placed a bounty” on Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro after last month’s announcement of a $50 million reward for details leading to his capture.

Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro leads the celebration of the 22nd anniversary of late President Hugo Chavez’s reinstatement following a failed coup attempt in 2002, in Caracas, Venezuela on April 13, 2024. (Reuters/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/File Photo)

“Nicolas Maduro was indicted by the Southern District of New York. A grand jury examined and evaluated the evidence and subsequently returned an indictment, not only against Maduro personally but against a network of individuals in that nation leveraging the governmental framework to facilitate drug trafficking operations targeting the United States,” Rubio remarked.

“He’s not the president of Venezuela, that’s the title he’s given himself,” he added. “What he is, is someone who’s empowered himself of some of the instruments of government, and they’re using that to operate a drug cartel from Venezuelan territory,” he added.

“When you traffic drugs into the United States, you’re meddling into the internal affairs of America, when you are pushing drugs towards the United States of America, you are a direct threat to the national security and the national interest of the United States. And that’s what we’re addressing here.”